What Happened in December 1997

Historical Events

Rimes and Spice Girls Win

Dec 8 8th Billboard Music Awards: LeAnn Rimes & Spice Girls win

Singer and Fashion Designer Victoria Beckham

The Sunshine Boys

Dec 8 Revival of Neil Simon's comedy "The Sunshine Boys", starring Jack Klugman and Tony Randall, opens at Lyceum Theater, NYC; runs for 230 performances

Tomorrow Never Dies

Dec 9 "Tomorrow Never Dies", 18th James Bond film starring Pierce Brosnan and Michelle Yeoh, premieres in London

Dec 11 Delegates from 150 industrial nations attending a UN climate conference in Kyoto, Japan, reach agreement to control heat-trapping greenhouse gases
Dec 11 Federal judge orders Microsoft not to bundle IE4 in Windows
Dec 12 Carlos the Jackal, "professional revolutionary", goes on trial in Paris

Crosby Claimant Sentenced

Dec 12 Fed judge sentences Autumn Jackson, who claims to be Bill Cosby's daughter, to 26 months for trying to extort $40 million from him

Dec 12 Florida releases Alex Arias, the last original Marlin
Dec 12 Japanese train builders (Maglev) claim world speed record at 332 MPH

Sports History

Dec 12 Red Sox sign Pedro Martinez to record 6 year $69 million contract

Dec 12 SWAT team shoots John E Armstrong in Florida, freeing 2 young hostages
Dec 12 TWA 800 hearings end
Dec 13 63rd Heisman Trophy Award: Charles Woodson, Michigan (CB)

Gartner Scores 700

Dec 14 Phoenix Coyote winger Mike Gartner becomes 5th NHLer to score 700 goals

A View From the Bridge

Dec 14 Revival of Arthur Miller's dramatic play "A View From the Bridge", starring Anthony LaPaglia, Allison Janney, and Brittany Murphy. opens at the Criterion Theater, NYC; runs for 239 performance, wins 2 Tony and 4 Drama Desk Awards

Spice World

Dec 15 "Spice World" movie directed by Bob Spiers and starring girl pop group the Spice Girls premieres in the UK

49ers Retire #16

Dec 15 SF 49ers retire Joe Montana's #16

Clinton Names Dog

Dec 16 US President Bill Clinton names his Labrador retriever "Buddy"

Dec 18 HTML 4.0 is published by the World Wide Web Consortium
Dec 21 Detroit Lions Barry Sanders is 3rd to run for 2,000 yards in a season
Dec 21 Detroit Lions linebacker Reggie Brown, knocked unconscious in game
Dec 22 Acteal massacre: Attendees at a prayer meeting of Roman Catholic activists for indigenous causes in the small village of Acteal in the Mexican state of Chiapas are massacred by paramilitary forces.
Dec 22 Hunter Tylo awarded $4 million in Melrose Place breach of contract
Dec 22 Merck baldness pill for men approved by FDA

MTV Removes Prodigy Video

Dec 22 MTV removes music video of The Prodigy's song "Smack My Bitch Up" from broadcast rotation

Kerrigan and Harding Record Show

Dec 22 Nancy Kerrigan & Tonya Harding pre-record a show to air on FOX on Feb 5

1st Coach to 200 Wins

Dec 22 Scotty Bowman's Red Wings beat the Boston Bruins, 4-2 giving him 200 wins with Detroit, and making him the first NHL coach to record 200 wins with 3 different teams; also Montreal and Buffalo

"As Good as It Gets"

Dec 23 "As Good as It Gets" film released written and directed by James L. Brooks, starring Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt

Dec 23 A Channukah candle is officially lighted in Vatican City for the 1st time to celebrate Hanukkah and to reconcile Roman Catholics and Jews [1]

Ballon d'Or

Dec 23 Ballon d'Or: Barcelona/Inter's Brazilian striker Ronaldo wins his first of 2 best football player in Europe awards ahead of Real Madrid forward Predrag Mijatović and Juventus midfielder Zinedine Zidane

Football Player and Manager Zinedine Zidane

Jackson Quickest to 500 Wins

Dec 23 Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson is quickest to reach 500 wins (682 games)

Kurri Scores 800

Dec 23 Colorado Avalanche Jari Kurri is 8th NHLer to score 600 career goals

Dec 23 Terry Nichols found guilty of manslaughter in Oklahoma bombing
Dec 23 US Agriculture Department estimates it costs $149,820 to raise a child to 18
Dec 24 The Dominican Republic becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty
Dec 24 The Sid El-Antri massacre (or Sidi Lamri) in Algeria kills 50-100 people.
Dec 25 For 1st time US movie box office receipts pass $6 billion

"Seinfeld" to End

Dec 25 Jerry Seinfeld announces the final season of his TV show "Seinfeld" will air the following year

Dec 26 The Soufriere Hills volcano on the island of Montserrat explodes, creating a small tsunami offshore.
Dec 27 Protestant paramilitary leader Billy Wright is assassinated in Northern Ireland.
Dec 28 Sting beats Hollywood Hogan for WCW Championship
Dec 29 Carquest Bowl 8: Georgia Tech beats West Virginia, 35-30
Dec 29 Cricket Women's World Cup: Australia defeats New Zealand by 5 wickets
Dec 29 Hong Kong begins slaughtering all its chickens to prevent bird flu
Dec 29 Orville Lynn Majors, 36, arrested for many deaths under his care
Dec 29 Russia signs agreement to build a $3B nuclear power plant in China
Dec 30 An abandoned building collapses on NY's 42nd St, no one hurt
Dec 30 In the worst incident in Algeria's insurgency, the Wilaya of Relizane massacres, 400 people are killed from four villages.
Dec 31 27th Fiesta Bowl: #10 Kansas State beats #14 Syracuse, 35-18
Dec 31 72 year-old Marv Levy retires as coach of the NFL Buffalo Bills after 12 seasons, including 4 consecutive losing Super Bowl appearances
Dec 31 Buffalo's Czech NHL goalie Dominik Hasek stops 36 shots for his 27th career shutout in Sabres' 3-0 win over Ottawa Senators; his 6th shutout in month of December; first since George Hainsworth in 1928-29 to achieve the feat

Intel Cuts Pentium Price

Dec 31 Intel cuts price of Pentium II-233 MHz from $401 to $268

Semiconductor Pioneer and CEO of Intel Andrew Grove

Dec 31 Microsoft buys Hotmail email service for $400 million and re-launches it as MSN Hotmail
Dec 31 More Swedes died than were born in 1997, 1st time since 1809
Dec 31 Orlando Hernandez, half-brother of pitcher Livan, defects from Cuba
Dec 31 South African & US surgeons separate Zambian Siamese twins joined at the head

Events in 1997

Famous Birthdays

Dec 14 DK Metcalf [DeKaylin Zecharius], American football wide receiver (Seattle Seahawks), born in Oxford, Mississippi
Dec 15 Maude Apatow, American actress (Euphoria), born in Los Banos, California

Zara Larsson (26 years old)

Dec 16 Swedish pop singer-songwriter ("Uncover"; "Never Forget You"), born in Solna, Sweden

Dec 20 Anok Yai, American model (1st model of Sudanese heritage to open a Prada show), born in Cairo, Egypt
Dec 21 Madelyn Cline, American actress (Outer Banks), born in Goose Creek, South Carolina
Dec 24 Neeraj Chopra, Indian athlete (Olympic gold javelin 2020; first-ever Indian Olympic track & field gold), born in Panipat, Haryana, India
Dec 29 Dylan Minnette, American actor (13 Reasons Why; Saving Grace), and singer-songwriter (Wallows - Are You Bored Yet?), born in Evansville, Indiana

Born in 1997

Famous Weddings

Peter Jennings

Dec 6 ABC's World News Tonight news anchor Peter Jennings (59) weds Kayce Freed in Bridgehampton, New York

Milla Jovovich

Dec 14 French film director Luc Besson (38) marries Russian-American actress Milla Jovovich (22); divorce in 1999

Woody Allen

Dec 23 American filmmaker Woody Allen, 62 weds Soon-Yi Previn 27, adopted daughter of Mia Farrow in civil ceremony at Palazzo Cavalli in Venice, Italy, presided over by Mayor Massimo Cacciari

Dec 25 Actress Rue McClanahan (64) weds actor-producer Morrow Wilson (58) at Manhattan's Waldorf-Astoria

Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith

Dec 31 American rapper and actor "The Fresh Prince" Will Smith (31) weds actress Jada Pinkett (26) in Baltimore, Maryland

Famous Divorces

Evel Knievel

Dec 10 Motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel (59) divorces Linda Joan Bork after 38 years of marriage

Famous Deaths

Dec 1 Denis G. Barrington, British artist, dies at 67
Dec 1 Michel Bélanger, French Canadian businessman and banker (b. 1929)
Dec 1 Stéphane Grappelli, French jazz violinist who founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France, dies at 89
Dec 2 Endicott Peabody, American politician (62nd Governor of Massachusetts), dies at 77
Dec 2 Michael Hedges, American new-age guitarist, composer, and singer (Aerial Boundaries), dies in a car accident at 43
Dec 2 Shirley Crabtree Jr. [Big Daddy], English pro wrestler (record-breaking 64-inch chest), dies from a stroke at 67
Dec 2 Steve Hamilton, American baseball pitcher (New York Yankees) and basketball forward (Minneapolis Lakers), dies of cancer at 63
Dec 3 Marian Kratochwil, artist, dies at 91
Dec 3 Violet Carlson, American Broadway actress (The Student Prince), dies at 97
Dec 4 Joseph Wolpe, South African psychotherapist, dies at 82
Dec 4 Richard Vernon, British character actor (A Hard Days Night; The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; Gandhi), dies of complications from Parkinson's disease at 72
Dec 5 Daphne Fielding, British socialite and writer, dies at 93
Dec 6 Alan Mouncer, film director and producer, dies at 68
Dec 6 Eddie Myers, British WWII soldier and engineer, dies at 91
Dec 6 Eliot Daniel, American composer (I Love Lucy theme), dies at 89
Dec 6 Willy den Ouden, Dutch swimmer (WR 100m freestyle, 1:04.06 1933-56; Olympic gold 4×100m freestyle 1936), dies at 79

Dec 7 Billy Bremner, Scottish footballer (Leeds United), dies at 54 from a suspected heart attack
Dec 8 Bob Bell, clown (WGN's 1st Bozo), dies at 75
Dec 8 Léon Poliakov, French historian (The Aryan Myth), dies at 87
Dec 8 Nicholas Polunin, British botanist and environmentalist, dies at 88
Dec 9 Tamara Geva, Russian-born dancer and actress, dies at 91
Dec 10 Gershon Kingsley [Götz Ksinski], German-American composer, electronic music pioneer, and Moog synthesizer player (Popcorn), dies at 97
Dec 10 Jake Carey, American actor (Rock Rock Rock!, Go, Johnny, Go!), dies at 71
Dec 11 Kenneth W. Gatland, British aerospace scientist, dies at 73
Dec 12 (Irving) "Mouse" Randolph, American swing jazz trumpeter (Cab Calloway Orchestra), dies at 88
Dec 12 Evgenii Landis, Soviet Russian mathematician, dies at 77
Dec 13 Alexander Oppenheim, British mathematician (Oppenheim conjecture), dies at 94
Dec 13 Harry Glaß, German ski jumper (Olympic bronze 1956), dies at 67
Dec 13 Martin Carter, Guyanese poet and political activist, dies at 70
Dec 13 Rafael Jose Fernandez de la Calzada y Ferrer, restaurateur, dies at 83
Dec 14 Kurt Winter, Canadian musician (The Guess Who), dies of kidney failure at 51

Dec 14 Owen Barfield, British philosopher of language, dies at 99
Dec 14 Robert Sutton, New Zealand electronics engineer, dies at 82
Dec 14 Stubby Kaye [Bernard Solomon Kotzin], American actor (Guys & Dolls; Lil' Abner;, Cat Ballou), dies of lung cancer at 79
Dec 15 Pananayiotis Taki Vatikiotis, Middle Eastern scholar, dies at 69
Dec 16 Lillian Disney, widow of animator Walt Disney, dies of a stroke at 98
Dec 16 Nicolette Larson, American rock vocalist (Lotta Love; Twins), dies from brain seizure at 45
Dec 16 Richard Warwick, English actor (Johnny Dangerously, Sebastine, If), dies of AIDS complications at 52
Dec 17 Reginald Victor Jones, British scientist who worked in military intelligence in WWII, dies at 86

Chris Farley (1964-1997)

Dec 18 American actor and comedian (SNL, Wayne's World, Coneheads), dies of a drug overdose at 33

Dec 19 David Schramm, American astrophysicist (pioneer in establishing particle astrophysics as a vibrant research field), dies at 52
Dec 19 Jimmy Rogers, American blues musician (Muddy Waters' Band), dies at 73

Masaru Ibuka (1908-1997)

Dec 19 Japanese electronics industrialist (Sony Corp), dies at 89

Dec 20 Dawn Steel, American filmmaker, 1st woman to head Hollywood studio, dies of cancer at 51
Dec 20 Denise Levertov, American poet and essayist (Joy Beneath the Skin), dies at 74
Dec 20 Dick Spooner, English cricket wicket-keeper (7 Tests; 12 dismissals), dies at 77
Dec 20 Vincent Ciccone, inventor (Blow-Pops candy), dies at 81
Dec 21 Amie Comeaux, American country music singer, dies at 21
Dec 21 Bruce Woodcock, English boxer, European Heavyweight Champion, dies at 76
Dec 21 Harold Roxbee Cox, Baron Kings Norton, British aeronautical engineer, dies at 95
Dec 21 Juzo Itami, film director/actor (Lord Jim, Yuuguremade), dies at 64
Dec 21 Michael Lyne, British Air Vice-Marshal, dies at 78
Dec 22 Douglas Ranger, British surgeon, dies at 81
Dec 22 Hugh Edward Conway Seymour, 8th Marquess of Hertford, dies at 67
Dec 22 John Pinkerton, English computer scientist who designed the first business computer in England, the LEO computer, dies at 78
Dec 22 Johnny Coles, trumpeter, dies at 71
Dec 22 Juzo Itami, Japanese director, commits suicide at 64
Dec 23 Brian Malzard Foss, British psychologist, dies at 76
Dec 23 Donald Gunn MacRae, British sociologist, dies at 76
Dec 23 Hrvoje Horvatic, Croatian filmmaker (Hand on the Shoulder), dies from chicken pox at 39
Dec 23 Keith Bentley, English international racing cyclist, dies at 72
Dec 23 Stanley Cortez, American cinematographer (Magnificent Ambersons), dies at 89
Dec 24 Alan Fluck, Scottish musical educator, dies at 69
Dec 24 James Komack, American writer, director, and actor (The Courtship of Eddie's Father; Chico and the Man; Welcome Back, Kotter), dies at 73
Dec 24 Pierre Péladeau, Canadian businessman and founder of Quebecor, dies at 72

Toshiro Mifune (1920-1997)

Dec 24 Japanese writer and actor (Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Shogun), dies at 77

Dec 25 Anatoli Boukreev, mountaineer, dies at 39
Dec 25 Denver Pyle, American actor (The Dukes of Hazzard, The Andy Griffith Show), dies of lung cancer at 77
Dec 25 Giorgio Strehler, Italian opera and theatre director, dies at 76
Dec 25 Laurence Gower, academic, dies at 84
Dec 26 Cornelius Castoriadis, Greek philosopher and economist, dies at 75
Dec 26 John Hinde, English pioneering color photographer (color postcards, documented circus life), dies at 81 [1]
Dec 26 John Whitley, British air-marshal, dies at 92
Dec 27 Anthea Joseph, British music promoter, dies at 57
Dec 27 Billy Wright, Irish Protestant paramilitary leader (b. 1960)
Dec 27 Brendan Gill, American critic (The New Yorker), dies at 83
Dec 27 Buxton Orr, Anglo-Scottish composer, dies at 73
Dec 27 Dorothy Stroud, garden historian, dies at 87
Dec 27 Ewart Abner, American record label executive, President of Motown Records, manager of Stevie Wonder), dies at 74
Dec 27 Tom Hudson, British artist and teacher, dies at 75
Dec 28 Henry Barraud, French composer, dies at 97
Dec 28 James Lees-Milne, English writer and architectural historian, dies at 89
Dec 28 Ronald Clive Williams, Welsh actor and comedian (Twin Town), dies at 68
Dec 29 Pat Clarke, British cyclist, dies at 82
Dec 30 Shinichi Hoshi, Japanese novelist (b. 1926)
Dec 31 76 law enforcement officers, killed by felons in US this year
Dec 31 Billie Dove [Lilian Bohny], American actress (Black Pirate, Stolen Bride), dies at 96
Dec 31 Dominique de Menil, French-American arts patron (Menil Collection Houston) and human rights advocate, dies at 89
Dec 31 Floyd Cramer, American Country Music Hall of Fame pianist ("Last Date"; "On the Rebound"), dies of cancer at 64
Dec 31 Michael Kennedy, son of Robert F. Kennedy, dies in ski accident at 39

On This Day